Tracking signal helps police find missing autistic man

ARLINGTON, Va. (WUSA9) -- Arlington County police say it took less than an hour to locate a 29-year-old autistic man who wandered away from his group home. Police say the man was wearing a tracking signal on his wrist.

At 8:21 a.m. Wednesday morning, a caregiver told police that the man had wandered away from the home in the 800 block of N. Lincoln Street.

He was found a little more than a mile away on N. Glebe Road at 9:12 a.m. and safely returned to his home.

The man was wearing a personal locator unit on his wrist, which is equipped with a tracking signal, as a part of Project Lifesaver with Lojack-Safetynet.

"Project Lifesaver is a program involving proactive tactics and special operations that respond to incidents of victims who suffer from Alzheimer's or other related disorders that have wandered away and need assistance finding their way back home," according to police.

Police say the program is known as a safety net which has had a 100% success rate of locating victims since it was introduced in Arlington County.

Once enrolled in the program, an officer will contact you with additional details. If you have any questions in regards to this program, please contact the Police Departments Lojack Safetynet coordinator, Lieutenant Ron Files at 703-228-4099.